Death, taxes and Jordan Howard trade rumors.
You just can’t avoid them, particularly in the spring months when Uncle Sam comes calling and NFL general managers pick up the phones too.
This time around, we have concrete reporting of trade interest and “ongoing discussions” between the Chicago Bears and other teams.
Just because Ryan Pace is talking to other teams doesn’t mean the 24-year-old running back will be dealt, but it appears more likely now than ever before.
The sticking point obviously becomes compensation, which is difficult to predict for a young player at a position which the league values less than ever before, approaching the final year of his rookie contract.
The recent running back trade market suggests the Bears wouldn’t get too much in return.
During this past season, the Cleveland Browns traded running back Carlos Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth-round pick.
Hyde was a former second-round pick who had back-to-back seasons just short of 1,000 yards for the San Francisco 49ers before signing his three-year, $15.5 million deal in Cleveland.
The Green Bay Packers traded disgruntled running back Ty Montgomery to the Baltimore Ravens for a seventh-round pick, but he clearly isn’t the caliber of running back as Howard.
In 2017, the Miami Dolphins sent running back Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick in a deal that might be most similar to the Bears and Howard.
The former fifth-round pick out of Boise State had just broken out the season before, making the Pro Bowl with over 1,200 yards.
Miami wasn’t committed to him long term and cashed in on what they could, which was only a day three draft pick.
That appears to be the same type of trade value for Howard at this stage.
Whatever team acquires him would be getting a one-year rental before he needs a new contract, and he isn’t a particularly strong weapon in the passing game.
At this point, Howard may be more valuable to the Bears backfield than a fourth- or fifth-round pick, unless a team offers to swap a different player off of their roster.
